Beware Commission Breath!

Last night I had an interesting conversation with a young bartender named Marissa at the restaurant we frequent. She casually commented to me that her mother had told her she should get her real estate license. I responded that I thought it was a great idea. (She’s very intelligent, personable, great at customer service, puts others first and has an amazing work ethic – working two jobs.)

She promptly shriveled her nose in disdain.

“I don’t think I would ever want to be a real estate agent!”

I had to laugh, being that I’ve been in the real estate business for almost 30 years now. So I asked her what it was that made her think she wouldn’t like real estate. Her response?

“I could never be a pushy sales person. I can’t imagine pushing people to buy a house. Like, we’re talking where they LIVE! That’s just not in me.”

My response?

“That’s exactly why you SHOULD get into real estate.”

Marissa’s response is probably not an unusual one. Perhaps you have had that pushy sales person experience yourself. If so – here’s our advice:

Don’t walk, RUN!

We have a saying for agents who operate that way. It’s called “Commission Breath”. If you smell commission breath, then you need to find yourself a new agent. if you feel like your agent is more interested in their commission than they are in your best interests – it’s time for a change. Don’t sign a Listing Agreement or a Buyer Broker Agreement until you are confident you will be well represented. YOUR interests MUST come first!

Our team has been helping clients buy & sell homes for more than 40 years. Over that time we have clients we have worked with over and over – some have even bought & sold more than 10 homes with us. We also have clients who have sent us their children. And their grandchildren. We have a long term view of the world. Our integrity is everything to us. One commission is never more important than one client and their best interests.

In fact, there are lots of times where we advise a client AGAINST buying or selling. When we work with buyers, we point out both the positives and the negatives. And it can be heartbreaking to see a buyer fall in love with a house, only for us to advise that we think it not in their best interests to buy. We’ve also met with Sellers who think they want to sell, and we advise them to wait. (Oftentimes this is the case when someone loses a spouse. Making a decision about selling too soon can be devastating.)